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Domestic Furnishings

Washboards, armchairs, lamps, and pots and pans may not seem to be museum pieces. But they are invaluable evidence of how most people lived day to day, last week or three centuries ago. The Museum's collections of domestic furnishings comprise more than 40,000 artifacts from American households. Large and small, they include four houses, roughly 800 pieces of furniture, fireplace equipment, spinning wheels, ceramics and glass, family portraits, and much more.

The Arthur and Edna Greenwood Collection contains more than 2,000 objects from New England households from colonial times to mid-1800s. From kitchens of the past, the collections hold some 3,300 artifacts, ranging from refrigerators to spatulas. The lighting devices alone number roughly 3,000 lamps, candleholders, and lanterns.

This set of eight stemmed cups accompanied the cocktail shaker also seen in the exhibit. They feature the same hammered effect and are made of silver. The cups are noticeably worn, perhaps from extensive use during Prohibition, a time when alcohol was outlawed in the name of social reform. Although making, selling, and transporting alcohol were illegal consuming it was not, and people devised many ways to continue this pastime.

This set of eight stemmed cups accompanied the cocktail shaker also seen in the exhibit. They feature the same hammered effect and are made of silver. The cups are noticeably worn, perhaps from extensive use during Prohibition, a time when alcohol was outlawed in the name of social reform. Although making, selling, and transporting alcohol were illegal consuming it was not, and people devised many ways to continue this pastime.

This set of eight stemmed cups accompanied the cocktail shaker also seen in the exhibit. They feature the same hammered effect and are made of silver. The cups are noticeably worn, perhaps from extensive use during Prohibition, a time when alcohol was outlawed in the name of social reform. Although making, selling, and transporting alcohol were illegal consuming it was not, and people devised many ways to continue this pastime.

This is a tortoiseshell calling card case from the mid-1800s. It was most likely used by a woman to keep the calling cards she would leave when making house calls to friends or family. Calling cards were prevalent during the Victorian era and were often displayed in decorative receivers (or trays) near the front entry of one’s home.

Sunbeam manufactured this automatic electric percolator during the 1950s. In a general trend of electrifying kitchen appliances, the electric percolator and coffeemaker replaced the old kettle. In the electric percolator, the base is filled with water and heat is supplied from an electrical element built in to the base. Once the percolator is plugged in, the heated water is driven up a hollow steam and through a filter basket containing the grounds, and “repercolated” again and again until the desired coffee strength is reached. This Sunbeam model has a dial at the base allowing the coffee to be brewed milder or stronger.

This Kenmore brand “Elevator” model toaster was manufactured by the Sears & Roebuck Company during the 1960s. The toaster is a chrome-plated, electric two-slice toaster with a heat-control lever and spring pop-up mechanism inside. Electric toasters had been in the home since the early 20th century, but post-World War II prosperity and a general movement towards electrified appliances to reduce housework saw a major increase in consumer spending and sales of household appliances.

Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware. Made of plastic, intended for service in the suburban kitchen, and with clean and modern design, Tupperware represented "tomorrow's designs with tomorrow's substances." The Museum's collections include over 100 pieces of Tupperware, dating from 1946 through 1999.

Beginning in the 1930s, chemist Earl S. Tupper (1907–1983) experimented with polyethylene slag, a smelly, black waste product of oil refining processes, to develop uses for it. He devised translucent and opaque colored containers that he first marketed in 1942 as "Welcome Ware," then added lids with a patented seal later in the decade.

Modeled after the lid of a paint can, the lid to a Tupperware container was to be closed with a "burp," to create a partial vacuum and make the seal tight. The product was designed to appeal to the growing number of housewives who worked in suburban kitchens with modern appliances, including large refrigerators that allowed once-a-week trips for grocery shopping at the supermarket. These women formed a market for new and effective methods of food storage. Tupperware's water-tight, airtight seal promised preservation of freshness and limited spills or spoilage.

Yet the capabilities of the new product were not obvious to consumers at first, and Tupper's containers did not sell well in retail stores. A Michigan woman named Brownie Wise thought of marketing Tupperware through the home-sales method. Wise developed the system of Tupperware parties, at which a demonstrator could show the uses and advantages of Tupperware. As Tupperware became a staple of many American kitchens, some women found job opportunities in Tupperware sales.

Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware. Made of plastic, intended for service in the suburban kitchen, and with clean and modern design, Tupperware represented "tomorrow's designs with tomorrow's substances." The Museum's collections include over 100 pieces of Tupperware, dating from 1946 through 1999.

Beginning in the 1930s, chemist Earl S. Tupper (1907–1983) experimented with polyethylene slag, a smelly, black waste product of oil refining processes, to develop uses for it. He devised translucent and opaque colored containers that he first marketed in 1942 as "Welcome Ware," then added lids with a patented seal later in the decade.

Modeled after the lid of a paint can, the lid to a Tupperware container was to be closed with a "burp," to create a partial vacuum and make the seal tight. The product was designed to appeal to the growing number of housewives who worked in suburban kitchens with modern appliances, including large refrigerators that allowed once-a-week trips for grocery shopping at the supermarket. These women formed a market for new and effective methods of food storage. Tupperware's water-tight, airtight seal promised preservation of freshness and limited spills or spoilage.

Yet the capabilities of the new product were not obvious to consumers at first, and Tupper's containers did not sell well in retail stores. A Michigan woman named Brownie Wise thought of marketing Tupperware through the home-sales method. Wise developed the system of Tupperware parties, at which a demonstrator could show the uses and advantages of Tupperware. As Tupperware became a staple of many American kitchens, some women found job opportunities in Tupperware sales.

Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware. Made of plastic, intended for service in the suburban kitchen, and with clean and modern design, Tupperware represented "tomorrow's designs with tomorrow's substances." The Museum's collections include over 100 pieces of Tupperware, dating from 1946 through 1999.

Beginning in the 1930s, chemist Earl S. Tupper (1907–1983) experimented with polyethylene slag, a smelly, black waste product of oil refining processes, to develop uses for it. He devised translucent and opaque colored containers that he first marketed in 1942 as "Welcome Ware," then added lids with a patented seal later in the decade.

Modeled after the lid of a paint can, the lid to a Tupperware container was to be closed with a "burp," to create a partial vacuum and make the seal tight. The product was designed to appeal to the growing number of housewives who worked in suburban kitchens with modern appliances, including large refrigerators that allowed once-a-week trips for grocery shopping at the supermarket. These women formed a market for new and effective methods of food storage. Tupperware's water-tight, airtight seal promised preservation of freshness and limited spills or spoilage.

Yet the capabilities of the new product were not obvious to consumers at first, and Tupper's containers did not sell well in retail stores. A Michigan woman named Brownie Wise thought of marketing Tupperware through the home-sales method. Wise developed the system of Tupperware parties, at which a demonstrator could show the uses and advantages of Tupperware. As Tupperware became a staple of many American kitchens, some women found job opportunities in Tupperware sales.

This is a copper chocolate pot with a removable lid. It is an example of an English Georgian chocolate pot, but was most likely made in the United States. The stepped lid has a small cover that pivots on a rivet for a molinillo (whisk) opening. It has a seamed and dovetailed body with an elongated, s-shaped spout attached the body at an angle. A long, wooden handle is fitted inside the copper cylinder and attached to the lower portion of the body with three brass rivets. During the 18th century, the preparing, serving and consuming of chocolate and coffee became a ritualistic affair for the middle classes. While it had been popular with upper classes for a century earlier, the desire to mimic the upper classes led to a proliferation of utensils and serving ware to enhance the experience.